It has been almost 25 years since South Africa gave up trying to sell the Rooivalk attack helicopter. That – and the advent of the ANC meddling in the industry with “cadre deployment” – saw the gradual decline of a globally competitive industrial sector.
It is gratifying, therefore, to see that the Pretoria-made Mwari advanced reconnaissance, surveillance and precision strike aircraft has actually been sold – and more orders are on the way. Initial customers appear to be from Africa, although the manufacturer, Paramount Aerospace Industries, has yet to confirm customer information.
That is significant because it means the SA aerospace industry has managed to conquer hitherto untested markets, confirmation not only in the quality of the aircraft itself, but also in the ability of Paramount to deliver the system over the long term.
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The Mwari’s success comes against the background of a shocking loss of engineering and design skills from our arms industry over the past 15 years particularly, coinciding with accelerated cadre deployment by the ANC and the spreading tentacles of state capture. Those talented people are producing systems for overseas companies who are raking in the billions which should have been coming here, had we not chased those skills away.
The Rooivalk was also an aircraft designed to a Cold War battle scenario and overly complex for many air forces on our own continent. The Mwari, by contrast, is designed to confront the asymmetric warfare of the 21st century, where the fights will often be against poachers and pirates or small guerrilla bands. The Mwari has also, clearly, got the nod ahead of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, because of its operational flexibility.
This is a notable achievement, not only for Paramount, but for SA as a whole. Mwari shows SA still has the skills and determination to compete as a sophisticated, industrialised nation.
